Go get him!
Founding member of the Whiny Little Bitches and Pricks Club
thethe (01-25-2024)
jpx7 (01-25-2024)
I don't think anyone here disagrees with this, and Soto probably isn't coming to Atlanta.
All I'm pointing out is the Braves bumped right up against the 3rd CBT tier this year already at $277M, and that threshold will be $281M in 2025. The current 2025 payroll appears to be $185M, while losing (or potentially losing) Morton, Ozuna, TDA, Bummer, Matzek, Fried, Minter, and zero arb players of note.
So that's $90M-$95M AA should have to spend to replace 2 SP, DH, backup C and 2-3 high leverage BP arms. I fully expect TDA to be back for $8M, so that leaves $80M-$85M for 2 SP, a DH, and 2-3 BP arms.
Assuming AJSS or Waldrep takes 1 of the Morton/Fried SP spots, the Braves could give $25M to Fried (Nola only got $24.5M) and STILL have $50M left over for Soto to play LF/DH. A 12/500 deal is a $42M hit. Fried plus Soto could theoretically be a $67M hit that STILL leaves $13M-$18M for the BP.
Certainly not likely, but the Braves do have the roster need (DH, potentially LF) and cash to make it worth at least speculating, which has never been the case for premium FAs since the Turner days.
And I don't think anyone needs any help imaging Acuna/Soto at the top of a lineup. It would be absurdly good to say the least.
Last edited by Enscheff; 01-26-2024 at 04:34 PM.
GovClintonTyree (01-26-2024), Jaw (01-30-2024), jpx7 (01-27-2024), The Chosen One (01-27-2024), thethe (01-26-2024)
From what I read, a lot of Mariners fans are pissed about that trade already- and I have a baseless suspicion this could end up being an epic steal. Not too sure about 5 WAR…. But it’s gonna be exciting to be sure.
17 days until pitchers and catchers report !
"Well, you’ll learn soon enough that this was a massive red wave landslide." - thethe on the 2020 election that trump lost bigly
“I can’t fix my life, but I can fix the world.” - sturg
Still could replace Ozuna if that happens but would be a hard sell to have Soto as a full-time DH but it's probably his best spot since his defense isnt the best. But there's money to spend with not a ton of needs. So i guess AA could do what he did this year and take on bad contracts for good players again.
It’s all about contact for Kelenic. For six weeks last year he did it and it was glorious. Like, .900 glorious.
He really didn’t do himself any favors when he was coming up and complaining loudly to anyone who would listen that he was being service-timed, Sabre-rattling about getting the union involved, that kind of crap. Dipoto thought he needed a little more time and took a lot of heat. Then when Kelenic did get up, he had a 40% K rate.
His reaction to his self inflicted injury, seeing him work to shorten up his swing path and my own experience with being a cocky idiot at 21 suggests to me that he’s made or is making the necessary adjustments to his attitude and mental game to be successful at this level.
He had just no personal currency left there. A classic fresh start candidate, and a great calculated gamble by our boy.
Jaw (01-30-2024)
Kelenic is, by far, the most interesting player to follow in the early part of the season. Hitting on him would go a long way towards extending the window past the “cheap Acuna” era.
Then Waldrep will come up and become the most interesting player to follow.
jpx7 (01-27-2024)
This seems like a good puzzle for the board to figure out:
Go get him!
Founding member of the Whiny Little Bitches and Pricks Club